


Accelerando

by trascendenza



Category: Fifth Element (1997), The Good Place (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Space, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, F/F, Feelings, First Dates, Mutual Pining, Romance, Singing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-01-30 11:37:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21427594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trascendenza/pseuds/trascendenza
Summary: Space AU. Eleanor comes to Tahani’s to lay low.
Relationships: Tahani Al-Jamil/Eleanor Shellstrop
Comments: 12
Kudos: 59
Collections: Yuletide 2019





	Accelerando

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Cakemage](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cakemage/gifts).

> The is an "inspired by the basic setup and aesthetic of the Fifth Element" AU that goes in its own direction in many aspects.
> 
> Content notes: see author's notes at the end.

⁂

“Diva?”

Off to Tahani’s left, her assistant for the day poked her head through the door, peeking into the room. Tahani, boneless in the selenia-infused steaming bathwater, was entirely too relaxed to look up.

“Yes?” She murmured.

“I’m so sorry, Diva, but there’s someone here to see you who claims she’s your friend, and she refused to —”

Then Tahani was forced to look up, because the assistant made a high-pitched squeal and someone unceremoniously pushed past her into the room, striding in like she owned the place.

Tahani’s breath caught at the familiar sight of a shock of garish orange hair, a cropped white shirt, and tight dark pants that ended in thick, stomping boots.

“Babe,” Eleanor said, grinning widely and slinging the giant gun in her hand over one shoulder, cocking her hip out. Then her eyes took in the scene, tracing down Tahani’s face and lower, clicking her tongue in obvious regret when she reached the layer of pink foam that was covering Tahani’s body. “Got any room in that bath for a grimy space rat who may or may not be on the run from —” Eleanor held up one hand, eyes looking up at the ceiling as she whispered mental calculations to herself, ticking off fingers, “— like, five different galactic authorities this week?”

“Oh, Eleanor,” Tahani laughed, because blessed Valasanala, it was good to see her again.

⁂

Sheltering Eleanor meant sheltering the entire crew of _The Good Ship_, naturally.

(“Well, she _is_,” Eleanor had said a little defensively when Tahani had inquired about the name the first time they met. “She may not be as shiny or, you know, spaceworthy as those seventh-gen giant dildos they’re calling passenger ships these days, but experience counts for a lot. Just ask the triplets I met at the Dhansan nexus,” she’d finished with an eyebrow waggle, the blatant flirtation in her eyes bringing a light blue flush to Tahani’s cheeks.)

“I’m so sorry for the inconvenience,” Brother Michael apologized as they were unloading their things from the ship. He, too, looked like Tahani remembered — harried and overwhelmed, but with an undeniable undercurrent of deep affection for his rowdy bunch. “We’ll be out of your hair in no time, Diva.”

“Nonsense,” she said, shaking her head gently. “You are my honored guests.”

She found her eyes drawn to the far end of the landing pad, where Eleanor was trying to yank what looked like some type of… large organic lump out of the main hatch. She had the gelatinous purple material in both her hands, the bottom of her boots were braced on either side of the hatch doors, groaning as she used all of her considerable strength to pull to no avail. When she paused, face red from exertion, her expression slowly turned murderous.

“I’ll cut you into pieces if I have to!” Eleanor shouted, and no sooner than the words left her mouth and the lump slid out, leaving Eleanor flat on her back on the ground, covered in a large, semi-rectangular purple… bed?

“Oh, my,” Tahani said, raising a hand to her mouth. “Should we—?”

“They’re fine,” Michael said, chuckling and shaking his head. “She and her ‘wingwoman’ have their little interspecies spats every so often, but they always work things out in the end.”

_Wingwoman?_ Tahani wondered, unable to puzzle out any kind of sensical information from Michael’s so-called explanation.

“Hi, Diva!” Jason said brightly, walking by with nothing more than a single, tiny storage pouch. He was wearing a single-piece silver bodysuit that had all manner of non-thematic objects attached to it, like he was an ambulatory magnet that had picked up random detritus along the journey. “Thanks for hiding us from the quad-po, you’re the best.”

“You’re very welcome, Jason,” Tahani said, inclining her head. “Would you like to meet this evening?”

The last few visits, she and Jason had been working on a piece combining their talents — Tahani’s singing and Jason’s dancing — and with just a few more days, they might well finish. Michael chose that moment to take his leave, giving them both a nod before heading off towards the estate.

“Hell yeah,” Jason said enthusiastically. Then he smiled, looking pleased with himself. “I’ve got a few new moves to show you, some freaky-deeky outer planets stuff. Guaranteed to make your blue thingies curl!”

“Tendrils, darling,” Tahani corrected once again. The light blue, finger-width feelers that characterized her species wove in and out of her black hair, and she brought one of them forward to reach out and give Jason a gentle tap on the nose. “And while what you’re describing is physically impossible, I am certain that you’ll give it a splendid try.”

“We’ll see,” Jason said skeptically, and Tahani laughed.

His wife Janet called a question out from the front door, and Jason left to find out what she needed. Eleanor was the last one in, walking precariously with her purple bundle bulging out of both arms.

“Would you like some assistance with your…” Tahani hesitated, turning her head at different angles and seeing no appropriate place to insert herself. “Friend?”

“Thanks for the offer, babe, but you better not,” Eleanor said, her words barely intelligible because of the way her face was smashed against the material. “She can get touchy with strangers.”

“Yes, of course,” Tahani said, secretly relieved, because she wasn’t the sort for physical labor even when it didn’t involve a creature of dubious sentience.

“But, uh, you wanna… do dinner tonight?” Eleanor asked, and if Tahani hadn’t known better, she would have thought that was a touch of nervousness in her tone.

In all the years she’d known the fifth element, she’d never been anything but brash, confident, and outrageously lewd, so that certainly couldn’t be it.

“Wonderful,” Tahani agreed easily. She’d very much been hoping that they would have the opportunity to catch up. “I’ll have Chef whip us up something marvelous.”

“Right, you, uh… do that,” Eleanor said, still sounding odd. “See you then,” she said, and waddled away far faster than was probably advisable, quickly confirmed when Tahani heard her slamming into something and cursing just after making it past the front door.

⁂

“Yes,” Tahani decided. “It’s a beautiful day out, let’s open them all.”

Iliurania whistled her assent, sliding her hand into the three-dimension display and turning various controls in sequence. The walls of Tahani’s formal dining hall transformed instantly. When closed, the room was a sphere with walls made of semi-translucent crystalline material that enhanced acoustics, but now, hundreds of small holes opened all at once. It allowed in the soft, muted light and fresh air from outside, redolent with the herbaceous scent of the forest, which the invisible shielding was programmed to allow through.

Like all homes, the entire ventilation system was designed to constantly pull in air from outside, but this direct infusion was what Tahani loved best: to smell the land, hear its murmurs in the background, to feel its presence here in her home.

There were blue crystalline chimes hovering throughout the room, a mixture of designs — spirals, circles within circles, swirling lines, and a few that were like miniature explosions of shards frozen in time. They began to spin in place, producing subtle melodies as their notes interacted with the incoming breeze.

Eleanor insisted that she liked Tahani’s “super gonzo furniture setups,” so she left the whirlwind where they would eat their meal as it was.

“Perfect,” she declared, clapping her hands and smiling widely at Iliurania, who fluttered her upper eyelids happily. “Give Chef and I another six gusts, and then escort her in, please.”

Iliurania extended one of her hands, palm-up, and whistled twice before leaving the room. Chef entered a few moments later with a hovertray filled with food, and Tahani smoothed down her dress and hair while he told her about the meal, showing her all of the special touches that he’d added at her request.

“You’ve outdone yourself once again, Chef,” she told him, undulating two her tendrils out along the side of her face in a gesture of gratitude.

“I hope the fifth element fully appreciates the Diva’s generosity,” he said with a look in his eyes, flicking a tendril teasingly in the air before he left. Tahani raised a hand to her throat, discomfited that his playfulness left her feeling… bashful. But she didn’t have long to gather herself again before she heard Iliurania’s incoming whistle.

“Eleanor,” she said, extending her arms in welcome. “I’m so glad you could join me.”

“Holy hatchroaches,” Eleanor said, looking around with wide eyes. She stepped forward, reaching out to touch the tip of one of the rotating chimes. It made a quiet chiming sound when she made contact. “I feel twenty percent dirtier just walking into this room.”

“Nonsense,” Tahani said, going over and sliding one of her arms through Eleanor’s. “You are lovely, as always.”

“Pretty sure you’re mixing the two of us up,” Eleanor said with a laugh, shaking her head, but she followed Tahani to the whirlwind in the center of the room without resistance. She tilted her head at the whirlwind, which was producing slow, lazy air currents and was large enough to fit the two of them with room to spare in the middle. The hovertray of food was already inside. “This is… new.”

“I can have them bring a table and chairs if you’d prefer,” Tahani said quickly, thinking that perhaps this surpassed Eleanor’s limit of acceptably “gonzo.”

“Oh, no, we’re _definitely_ taking this thing for a spin,” Eleanor said, clapping her hands together, eyes lighting up. Then she glanced up Tahani. “Or does it take _us_ for a spin? I’m good either way.”

“Nothing quite so dramatic, I’m afraid,” Tahani said with a soft smile. “Come, I’ll show you.”

They walked through the outer current arm-in-arm, the flow passing over them like a cool syrup. The inner layer was made up of semi-solid tubes of air tinted with blue, programmed to automatically move to let them pass.

“Oooh, tingly,” Eleanor said, shaking herself out when they were standing inside, smiling broadly. “Could I get one of these in my room?”

“To take your meals?” Tahani asked.

“Ah… yep, sure, let’s go with that,” Eleanor said, but the way her eyebrows were moving it clearly wasn’t that.

“Right,” Tahani said, deciding that in this case the better part of valor wasn’t asking further questions. She reached out, placing her hands on one of the blue-tinted tubes. It was about half as thick her body, and responded to her touch by changing shape, but provided enough resistance that her hand only sunk in a small amount. “Please, sit.”

Tahani demonstrated, seating herself first, and the tube cradled her and automatically conformed itself around her, supporting every part of her body.

“Oooh, that’s the stuff.” Eleanor exhaled as she sank in, eyes closed in a bliss. “A girl could really get used to this, Diva.”

_Good_, Tahani thought to herself, then shook her head, leaning forward to serve Eleanor instead.

The meal passed genially after that, Eleanor recounting her misadventures with winks and tantalizing re-tellings. Tahani wasn’t sure if they were gross exaggerations, or more worryingly, accurate summations of highly improbable situations that ranged from extreme hilarity to borderline disturbing.

There was something strange about her energy, though, and Tahani had almost given up pinpointing the cause when Eleanor blurted out loudly, “Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course, darling,” Tahani said, a little taken aback at Eleanor’s sudden forcefulness.

“Sorry,” Eleanor said more normally, waving one of her hands. “I’m being weird.”

Tahani gave her an indulgent smile. “I’m used to it,” she replied serenely.

“Ha,” Eleanor barked. “Yeah, you would be, wouldn’t you? Right… sooo…”

Eleanor was looking everything but at Tahani, tapping two of her fingers on her knee, and frowning enormously.

“So, you know Chidi’s showing me and Janet the how-to-blend-in-with-the-humans ropes.” Eleanor sighed dramatically, sounding extremely put upon. “And he’s been super up my ass lately about my, like, _feelings_. And, you know. Talking about them. And stuff.”

Ah, bless him. Chidi was braver than he seemed to venture willingly into such a volatile landscape.

“And, uh, the question I wanted to ask you was if… you know…” Eleanor’s tongue darted out to lick her lips. “I could come and visit you sometime when I’m not in trouble,” she finished in a low voice, stringing the last words together so quickly it took Tahani a moment to decipher them.

Tahani stared at her, completely taken aback. Sheltering Eleanor from the authorities was how they’d originally met, yes, but she hadn’t realized that Eleanor took that to mean it was the entire basis of their relationship.

Eleanor was nervously darting glances at her, fidgeting with her hands.

“Eleanor,” Tahani finally said, reaching across the hovertray and placing a hand over Eleanor’s smaller one. Her skin felt quite warm, and she stilled under Tahani’s touch. “You are welcome here anytime, for any reason. I have always considered you a dear friend, and I apologize if I ever did anything to give you a different impression.”

Eleanor blinked at her. “So, we could, like… hang out, sometime? For no specific reason?”

“We can. In fact,” Tahani smiled, squeezing Eleanor’s hand. “I would like nothing more.”

“Oh.” Eleanor smiled, ducking her head a little. “Well… good. That’s good.”

“Indeed,” Tahani said, running her thumb over Eleanor’s knuckles. When Eleanor shifted her gaze to look down at their joined hands, Tahani quickly pulled it back, worried that she’d crossed an invisible line of propriety. “I’ll just let Chef know we’re ready for dessert,” she said, standing and going over to the communication interface, taking a moment to gather herself again.

⁂

Now, came the tricky part.

Jason was spinning and undulating beautifully, perfectly in time with the upbeat, fast pace that Tahani and the band were setting. He used his silver bodysuit to incredible effect as he moved — like when he reached his arm out towards the audience, flicking his wrist to complete the movement, and a pulse light of extended out of his hand like an extension of his limb. It flared and dissipated as he flowed into the next pose.

Tahani began to alter the direction of her voice to move into the transition, her musicians following her effortlessly: they were going to be shifting rather quickly from a frenetic, thumping beat into an ethereal, gentle melody, and she and Jason had been off with their timing more than once during the early rehearsals.

She watched him as she shifted both layers of her voice, which was his cue: she raised the deeper, lower layer, and simultaneously lowered the higher, airier layer down to create a different aural texture. This texture was meant to evoke the feeling of an intimate duet — the two halves of her voice unifying more fully. Her voice and the music melded effortlessly.

A thrill ran through her as Jason hit his mark perfectly, pausing in the middle of a spin with his arms curved and one leg extended, as still as if he’d suddenly entered suspended animation.

Tahani risked a quick peripheral glance at their audience — the crew of _The Good Ship_, her household staff, her friends and acquaintances who lived planetside — and saw that their eyes were positively riveted to Jason. In particular Janet, whose wide-eyed gaze was so rapt and adoring that Tahani felt a residual warmth just from seeing her.

Except for one person, whose bright orange hair was directly angled towards Tahani, whose attentive blue eyes were somehow visible even across the room.

Tahani blinked and narrowly missed her own cue for the next part, forced to quickly improvise a minor change to cover her near-misstep.

_Gather yourself, Diva_, she thought. She firmly directed her focus back on Jason, who had moved into a more fluid, ballet-like style of dance. He used the suit’s gravity features to make his jumps long, drifting arcs, and to float gently, disengaging his pointed toes from the ground while his arms craned for the sky.

For the finale, Tahani took her voice through a series of vocal acrobatics to bring her notes higher, and when she hit the light, chiming plateau, she stretched it as a backdrop to Jason’s elegant spins which were bringing him higher and higher into the air, until he’d nearly reached the top of the performance sphere.

As her voice faded, he drifted back down to the ground, his eyes serenely downcast and his arms elegantly unfurling, until he landed on the ground in a soft seated position, hands extended in front of him as if in supplication.

The applause were thunderous, and when Tahani looked back, she saw Eleanor leap out of her seat like she could barely contain herself, clapping furiously and still looking only at Tahani.

⁂

“As always, Tahani, top notch hostessing skills,” Eleanor said, twirling one of her hands out in a flourish and inclining her head in a joking bow. They were standing in front of _The Good Ship_, the rest of the crew already inside waiting for her.

“The pleasure is mine, darling,” Tahani said, stepping forward and taking Eleanor’s gesturing hand in between her own in a spontaneous gesture. “And…”

One of Tahani’s tendrils flicked at her own earlobe, a nervous tic that she stopped as soon as she noticed. “I trust that it won’t be so long, then, until your next visit?” She finally finished, trying to make her smile as light and casual as possible.

After all, what did _she_ have to be nervous about? Eleanor was the one who’d raised the suggestion, after all. She was simply… encouraging her, making it clear that she was amenable. That was all.

“Uh, yeah,” Eleanor said, and her smile was neither casual nor light — it was wide and perfectly endearing. “Sounds like a plan, babe.”

“Lovely,” Tahani whispered, her thumb stroking over the delicate skin on the arc of Eleanor’s wrist. She fought the urge to grip a bit tighter when it was time for Eleanor to slip away, disappearing behind the sliding silver doors with her smile still firmly in place.

⁂

_Two months later_

Tahani evaluated the holographic capture of herself in the outfit she’d chosen for the evening, going over every detail with a critical eye.

Her hair and tendrils were intertwined. She’d created a careful up-wave that started at the crown of her head and curled up into the air at an angle, drawing a long line from the tip of her chin to the elevated point at the end of the spiral of her hair. She’d left two of her tendrils free, allowing them to frame her face, though the choice was as much comfort as fashion — no matter how lovely it might look, it felt stifling to bind all her tendrils. She preferred to leave a few loose so she could gesture or move them freely.

Next was the dress, a shade of royal indigo that enhanced the luminescent blue undertones of her dark skin. The wrist-length modesty of the sleeves gave way to a low neckline, and it flared out into elegant folds around her legs, swishing gently with her every movement. The bodice was speckled with clusters of white gems that twinkled fetchingly in the light, reminiscent of the night sky.

The crowning touch were the matching earrings, made of the same white gems, which dripped down a long line like a rain of stars that stopped just above her shoulders.

“It will have to do, I suppose,” Tahani sighed, because this was her fourth attempt and she simply did not have time to start from scratch again before dinner would be served.

She was being silly, anyway. Eleanor was never anything less than complimentary about Tahani’s appearance, in her own lascivious way, and there was no reason to tangle her tendrils over a friendly dinner. But she supposed it was a bit special, because this was the first time Eleanor was making good on her word — she’d sent a quick message that she’d be “dropping by” and showed up all on her own, explaining that the rest of the crew had some business to attend to nearby and they’d be back for her in the morning. Tahani just wanted to put her best foot forward as they stepped into this new phase of their friendship, that was all.

She dabbed a touch of selenia essence behind her ears and at the base of her neck before sweeping out of the room.

⁂

“_Holy_ —” Eleanor slapped a hand over her mouth as soon as she saw Tahani enter the room.

Tahani fully intended to ask why, but instead her mouth simply dropped open and… stayed that way.

Eleanor’s dress was, objectively, a fascinating piece of fashion: it seemed to be constructed entirely of thin strips of mostly-translucent fabric layered over each other, conforming to Eleanor’s curves in a way that left tantalizing strips of her bare skin visible. The hem lay a scant few inches below Eleanor’s waist, leaving the gorgeous stretch of her legs completely on display.

“You have new boots,” Tahani said inanely when she arrived at the bottom of the vista and saw that Eleanor’s feet were similarly wrapped in strips of white fabric that went up to her mid-calf.

Eleanor removed the hand she had clamped over her mouth slowly. “You, uh… like them?”

Tahani blinked, snapping out of her trance. How unforgivably rude of her, to gawp as if Eleanor were some animal in an enclosure.

“Darling,” she said, coming forward to take Eleanor’s hands in her. “You look absolutely stunning. Do excuse my poor manners, I let my surprise get the better of me for a moment.”

Eleanor shrugged, a tiny smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “Thought I’d try something new, you know. Not that my normal outfit isn’t hot as hell, but I wanted something… different, for tonight.”

Tahani had noticed that Eleanor wore the clothes she’d woken up in with all the dedication of an obligatory uniform, and was pleased to see that she was finally feeling comfortable enough in this form to start branching out.

“Well, in that case, we _must_ go shopping during one of your visits.” Tahani said, taking a step closer and squeezing Eleanor’s hands. How marvelously exciting, to play a part in Eleanor’s cultural blossoming. “I absolutely insist.”

Eleanor craned her head up, blinking. Her small smile grew under Tahani’s gaze, until it was taking up most of her face and her eyes looked almost dreamy. “’Kay,” she whispered.

“Come, let’s eat,” Tahani said, pulling Eleanor towards the whirlwind. “Before the ice zanaleas melt.”

Eleanor followed, snickering.

“I cannot abide a warm zanalea,” Eleanor said in a mock-disapproving tone once they were seated. She crossed her arms over her chest and pinched her features in a spot-on imitation of Tahani’s dour majordomo, Shawn.

“Oh, dear,” Tahani laughed, leaning over and covering one of Eleanor’s wrists with her hand. “But you know that if he hears you, he’ll exact his revenge in subtle, untraceable ways.”

“What?” Eleanor asked, picking up one of the zanaleas with her fingers and popping it into her mouth, crunching down with a grin. “He’ll overstarch my panties? Ooooh, call the quad-po, crimes against undergarments in progress!”

“Oh, no,” Tahani said, barely managing to keep a straight face as she served herself. There were times that she truly envied Eleanor’s unrestrained brashness. “They’ll be appropriately soft, and with just a touch of floral scent.”

Then she leaned forward, whispering. “But the itch you develop in your nether regions two weeks later? Shan’t be a coincidence.”

Both of Eleanor’s eyebrows went up. “For real?”

“He was a spymaster general before coming into my employ,” Tahani confirmed, reaching for the special Terran beverage that she kept in stock specifically for Eleanor’s visits. It fizzed alarmingly as she filled the glass, but she persevered.

“Da-amn,” Eleanor said, looking out towards the hallway, like she expected to find him there. “All this time, and I’ve been underestimating just how evil that puckered asshole really is.”

Tahani nearly spit out the exploratory sip of the pale yellow beverage that she’d started to drink.

“Eleanor,” she chided, but likely the effect was spoiled by the indulgent smile that grew entirely without her permission. She really couldn’t help herself, though. Eleanor was so unlike any being that she’d ever met.

The next course was another of Eleanor’s favorites, a type of fowl roasted to a golden brown. Tahani found both the concept and the sight abhorrent, but Eleanor sucked on her fingers with such satisfaction and gusto after consuming the carcass that it was worth the sacrifice.

“Eleanor,” Tahani asked, refilling Eleanor’s glass for the third time, “what were you going to say, earlier? When I walked into the room?”

Eleanor blinked three times, slowly. “Oh, uuuuuh…” Eleanor huffed out an amused, self-deprecating sound. “That was just gonna be like five minutes straight of offensive-even-by-my-standards swearing.”

Tahani tilted her head, baffled. During Eleanor’s last stay, Tahani had witnessed dozens of such tirades, one of which was over a pastry that she thought someone had stolen but later discovered that she’d accidentally sat on. She’d split it with Jason once it was recovered.

Eleanor’s lips pursed, crowding to the right side of her face awkwardly, like she wanted to prevent the next words from spilling out of her mouth. “It just didn’t seem like… the right way to respond. To…”

Eleanor gestured towards Tahani with one hand, starting by pointing down at her feet and then moving her hand up through the air in a slow trail until she reached the top of Tahani’s hair. “All this.”

“Oh,” Tahani said, the usual echo in her dual-layered voice a bit muted. If she were being honest, she’d been hoping for at least one comment about how she looked “hotter than a solar flare” and that Eleanor wanted to scale her like a mountain, bit it seemed that she had missed the mark, after all. “I see.”

“I mean,” Eleanor continued, her lips continuing their uncomfortable gymnastics, not quite making eye contact, “you just look… so…I mean, you _always_ look beautiful, because that’s just the factory setting of your existence or whatever, but tonight you’re just extra…”

And then Eleanor’s blue eyes found Tahani’s, and she swallowed. “Breathtaking, Tahani. You just… stole it. Right out of my lungs.”

And perhaps by speaking it, Eleanor made it happen, because Tahani experienced the exact sensation she described — like the air around her had disappeared, and she could only gasp for it, shocked into a stunned silence.

“I mean, whatever, right?” Eleanor scoffed and laughed awkwardly, making a dismissive gesture with one of her hands. “You already know that you basically scorch my eyeballs every time you walk into the room, you’ve heard it a million times.”

“Actually,” Tahani said, trying to regain her emotional footing, which was actually easier now that Eleanor had popped the fragile bubble around the moment. “I… am very touched by your words tonight, Eleanor.” She smiled, letting it spread to its full breadth. “Thank you.”

“Oh, uh,” Eleanor’s eyebrows shot up. “...good. That’s good.”

Tahani took pity on her, knowing that these sorts of exchanges were very challenging for her fledgling emotional navigation skills, and asked Eleanor to pass one of the platters, teasing her lightly that she’d barely left any for Tahani. 

When the meal ended eighteen gusts later, Tahani found herself wishing she could find some excuse to prolong the visit. But she knew _The Good Ship_ had important business to conduct, and at least now Tahani knew that it wouldn’t be long before she visited again.

⁂

_One month later_

“Ta-haaaani,” Eleanor drawled, splayed out loosely on the inner layer of Tahani’s side of the whirlwind. She’d somehow made her way over here, but Tahani didn’t mind the warmth where their hips and legs were lined up.

“That was a rather strong infusion, wasn’t it?” Tahani laughed, covering her mouth with four tendrils. “I’ll have to give our compliments to Chef.”

“It’s like he knows me!” Eleanor brayed, lifting an arm. Then she rolled her head towards Tahani, looking up. “Oh, wait,” she said, giggling helplessly into Tahani’s shoulder. “He does!”

“I’m happy that you’re here, darling,” Tahani said as she looked down at Eleanor, her face flushed bright with mirth and spirits. Though she wore no cosmetics, her skin seemed to radiate with an inner glow.

Eleanor rubbed her cheek against Tahani’s shoulder. “Me too,” she whispered.

As the evening wore on, the effects of the infusion lessened, but they had ended up tangled together, Eleanor’s legs over Tahani’s lap, and one of Tahani’s hands stroking over Eleanor’s hair.

“Chef really does know me,” Eleanor said, wry amusement coloring her voice. “If he’d whipped up any more of that sweet sensation, one hundred percent I would’ve kept going until I was blacked out in a puddle of my own eighty-proof drool.”

“I would have stopped you before it came to that!” Tahani exclaimed, alarmed at the image. Of course she’d heard stories of Eleanor’s more wild exploits, but couldn’t bear the thought of seeing her incapacitated that way up close and personal.

“You could’ve tried,” Eleanor laughed. She held up two fingers in the air with a scant distance between them. “But I get just a teensy bit physically violent when people try to come between me and alcohol.”

Tahani reared back a bit at that. “You wouldn’t.” Tahani might have the advantage in size, but she knew for a fact that Eleanor was not to be trifled with.

“Well,” Eleanor tilted her head at Tahani, her smile still a little soft at the edges. “Maybe you’d be the exception.”

“I should hope so,” Tahani said primly.

They passed a few moments in a companionable silence, Tahani’s fingertips weaving through the fine threads of Eleanor’s hair.

“Tahani,” Eleanor said quietly, her tone oddly subdued. She’d been quieter than normal this evening, which had been one of the reasons that Tahani had asked Chef to bring them a post-meal libration. “Can I ask you something?”

“Anything,” Tahani replied instantly.

“Do you think I —” Eleanor breathed out, then shook her head. “Never mind, it’s stupid.”

“It certainly is not,” Tahani said, her tone brooking absolutely no argument. One of the advantages of a lifetime spent honing her instrument meant that when the moment called for it, she knew how to sharpen her intonation into a piercing blade, or modify her modulation into immovable steel. She raised her chin. “And I shall not hear otherwise.”

One of Eleanor’s eyebrows climbed a slow track into a curvature of surprise, and Eleanor blinked exactly twice before something else overtook her expression.

“Yes, ma’am,” she said slowly, her lip sliding up into a flirtatious half-smile. 

“Good,” Tahani nodded, mollified. She let her fingers resume their gentle motions, circling the pad of her thumb along Eleanor’s scalp, waiting.

Eleanor was silent for a moment. She stared fixedly down at her hands, picking at a hangnail with exaggerated concentration.

“Do you really think I can do this?” Eleanor finally said, her voice quieter than Tahani had ever heard it before.

Tahani just barely pulled her tongue back in time to stop the automatic question from spilling out. All it took was a moment’s consideration for her to understand: there was only one thing that could be weighing on Eleanor so heavily.

There was a fragility in her that Tahani had never seen before, that made her wish she could keep Eleanor right here, safe and protected from the rest of the ’verse and all that it expected and demanded of her. Tahani closed her eyes, singing a quick prayer to Valasanala in her mind before she spoke.

“Eleanor…” Tahani began, the two layers of her voice echoing more profoundly with the depth of emotion she was feeling. “You woke up in a strange new body, years before you were meant to. You’ve told me about how you had to re-learn everything. I can’t imagine what it must have been like.”

Eleanor’s eyes crept up towards Tahani’s face, her nervous fingers stilling.

“And while your methods may be… unorthodox, to say the least, it’s been my honor to shelter you and your crew. I’m proud to be a part of what you’re doing.”

Tahani sighed as she looked down at Eleanor, voice softening. “And of course I worry, darling, knowing that you’re out there going up against smugglers, infiltrating prison camps, or joining rebel forces. But _that_ is what you are, Eleanor. A force for good in this ’verse.”

Eleanor’s eyes were wide, and her lips slightly parted like she was paused in the middle of a breath.

Tahani reached out, taking Eleanor’s hands in her own. “That is why I can tell you unequivocally, my dear. _Yes_. I know that when the time comes for you to fulfill your role as the fifth element, you shall nothing less than magnificent.” 

Tahani watched as Eleanor blinked, her eyes welling, and almost released her hands when they twitched upwards, undoubtedly to brush away the threatening tears.

But then she made a sound somewhere between a laugh and a groan, and shook her head, the tears tracking down the sides of her face.

“Goddamnit, Tahani,” Eleanor exhaled shakily, but she managed a smile. “Warn me next time you’re planning on punching me in the soul like that, okay?”

Tahani laughed, squeezing Eleanor’s hands. She instinctively reached out two of her tendrils to gently brush away the moisture on Eleanor’s cheeks. Eleanor went stock still at the contact, her eyes going very large. Tahani withdrew quickly, chastising herself for how thoughtlessly forward she’d been.

After a few moments, Eleanor regained her composure, and took one of her hands back to run through her hair. Tahani was inordinately pleased that the other stayed, and slid their fingers into a gentle interlocking hold.

“So, I, uh…” Eleanor bit her lip. “Sorry if this is totally weird or jumbled or whatever but… thank you, for, you know. Saying that. Thinking that. About me.”

Eleanor’s lips quirked, her tone self-deprecating. “You’ve always, like… looked at me that way, like you think I’m great, and it’s… helped me a lot. Over the years.”

Tahani stroked her thumb over Eleanor’s, trying to make her expression as encouraging as possible.

“And I…” Eleanor inhaled. “I’m scared as shit, Tahani, and it —”

Eleanor’s eyes welled up again, and her expression turned annoyed, like she couldn’t believe the way her body kept betraying her by having emotions.

“I know that I’m lucky as hell to have you in my corner,” she finished quietly, swiping harshly at her eyes, before giving Tahani a shaky smile. “So, just… it really means a lot to me. How much you believe in me.”

“Oh, Eleanor,” Tahani said, her voice so resonant that it was nearly song. Her tendrils swarmed around her face with the overflowing affection that she couldn’t contain. “I will always be here to remind you. Whenever you need to hear it.”

And then —

The sound of her own voice reverberated back, percolating through her, raising chills on every inch of her exposed skin.

It was _there_, right in the center of her chest. She felt the growing strength of the rhythmic pulsation that had begun the moment Eleanor’s voice had gone so uncharacteristically small, the moment Tahani felt the magnificent impact of Eleanor’s rare show of tender vulnerability.

“Tahani?” Eleanor asked, her smile fading and a look of concern replacing it. “Are you all right? Did I make it too weird?”

“Blessed Valasanala,” Tahani said, raising a hand to her throat, her fingers and voice both trembling. “I’m… this is incredible, Eleanor. You’re… you’ve… do you hear it?”

Eleanor furrowed her brows, squinting at Tahani.

“I literally don’t know how this could be possible because you’re already straight up birdsong and tinkling bells at all times, but —” Eleanor tilted her head. “Am I hallucinating with my ears, or does your voice sound… even prettier?”

“You —” Tahani laughed even as the tears filled her eyes, so wonderfully overwhelmed that she was finally receiving Valasanala’s greatest blessing, after a lifetime of wondering if her time would ever come. “Eleanor, don’t you see — _you_ did this. Just now, you… shared your true voice with me.”

Tahani got off the whirlwind, falling to her knees on the floor and kneeling in front of Eleanor, who leaned back, looking mildly frightened by this turn of events.

“For my people, Eleanor,” Tahani said, breathlessly, reveling in the rich resonance of her new voice, letting every delicious word flow through her, “this is a spontaneous, sacred gift of trust, which can only be shared between deeply bonded friends or lovers.”

She looked up at Eleanor, smiling like a fool, feeling her face flushed blue, so pleased that she couldn’t give an unripe lavana about propriety. “Your voice has become a part of mine.”

Eleanor looked down at her with an expression of pure, frozen shock.

“Tahani,” Eleanor exhaled, her expression shifting so quickly and so opaquely that Tahani couldn’t follow its trajectory. “That’s — fuck, that’s —”

She dropped her head, like a puppet whose strings had been cut, looking down into her lap. “_Fuck_,” she groaned, with feeling.

“Eleanor?” Tahani said more quietly, her elation beginning to wilt. “Have I… upset you?”

“Okay, look,” Eleanor said, speaking down towards her lap in a very small voice. “I have a three-for-the-price-of-one dumb confession.”

“Please,” Tahani said, squeezing Eleanor’s hands, scooting herself closer. She could understand: Eleanor hadn’t intended for any of this, she’d merely been trying to have a conversation with a friend. It was surprising, to say the least. She likely just needed a few moments to properly process what was happening.

“Chidi’s still grinding at me every day about this feelings stuff.” Eleanor raised her head a fraction. “And that’s why I should probably tell you about how… I got us into trouble on purpose a few months ago, so I’d have an excuse to visit you. And that I low-key blackmailed Janet into spending a super unpleasant hour wrapping me into that skintight white dress I wore that other night. And that’s why I’ve been acting so weird, because I keep trying to, like. Tell you about them. My… feelings. That I have. Towards you.”

Eleanor raised her head just a bit higher, and they were nose-to-nose. Eleanor’s eyes were enormous and terrified. “But I guess my voice beat me to the punch,” she whispered.

The warmth in Tahani’s chest bloomed outwards, infusing her flesh and bone.

“Oh, my dearest Eleanor,” she whispered back, and leaned in to find Eleanor’s lips, a sweet hum emanating from her entire body as they finally came together, filling the room with the sound of their harmony.

⁂

“No, no, no,” Eleanor said, reaching her hand up into Tahani’s hair, slipping her fingers between Tahani’s tendrils. “Why are you tucking these little beauties away?”

Tahani blinked down at Eleanor. “Earlier, when I touched your face, you seemed —”

“So immediately turned on I had to physically restrain myself from jumping you?” Eleanor interrupted her brightly, grinning and teasing her tendrils free as she was speaking. “Yes, yes I was.”

Tahani leaned down, smiling into Eleanor’s lips. “I see,” she murmured, placing a soft kiss at the side of Eleanor’s mouth. She slid her hand under the hem of Eleanor’s beautifully tight black shirt, skimming her palm along the silken skin of her waist. “Did I mention that they’re extensible?”

Eleanor pulled back, looking up at Tahani, her eyes twinkling wickedly. “If that means what I think it does, I think I’m about to have my ’verse imploded in the best possible way.”

In answer, Tahani trailed the tip of one tendril in a slow trail downwards: she began at Eleanor’s temple, traced her jawline, trickled across her collarbone, and finally settled into the valley between her breasts, feeling the rapid rise and fall of her breathing. Eleanor’s skin felt incredible, warm and vibrant. She let her tendril extend farther downwards, slowly and intentionally.

“Fuck,” Eleanor gasping when Tahani reached her goal, pupils blown wide, gazing up at Tahani as if entranced. “That’s not gonna get old _any_ time soon.”

Swimming in the roaring current of her own desire, Tahani reached out, encircling Eleanor’s wrists, her waist, her shoulders. She drew her in, held her, and didn’t let her go.

⁂

“Mona is going to be _so_ smug about this,” Eleanor groaned, re-arranging herself and slinging a leg over Tahani. She was burrowed in the green vines of Tahani’s bed, naked and glorious.

“Your purple… companion?” Tahani hazarded, because she still hadn’t been able to discern the exact nature of this relationship.

“Yeah, she’s been jealous as hell since that first visit, even though I told her there was no way you’d ever take up with a grimy space rat like me,” Eleanor said, tilting her face down to look at Tahani, her eyes going soft. “Guess I look like the dumbass now. I better officially introduce you to her tomorrow.”

“That sounds splendid,” Tahani said with just a bit of firmness, hoping that she could will it so.

“You’ll love her,” Eleanor promised, waving a hand. “She’s really awesome once she stops threatening to eat you.”

“I’ll… keep that in mind,” Tahani said, trying to do the exact opposite. “And I have never considered you a space rat, dearest.” Occasionally grimy was another matter, but that would steer away from her point.

“Are you questioning my pedigree? I’ll have you know that I come from a long, proud line,” Eleanor said, affecting a haughty tilt to her chin. “Descended from the scummiest, dirt-baggiest breed of them all.”

“Didn’t you wake up in a laboratory?” Tahani laughed, running a hand up Eleanor’s side before settling it at the base of her neck and drawing her closer.

“Yeah, well,” Eleanor said, nudging her nose against Tahani’s cheek. “No need to get accurate on me, now.”

“I wouldn’t dare,” Tahani whispered mockingly into Eleanor’s lips, pressing in to kiss her soundly and sliding their skin together, tracing her fingertips down the hollow of Eleanor’s spine.

⁂

**Author's Note:**

> Content notes: Allusions to tendril intimacy, starts at: _“No, no, no,” Eleanor said._ Then ends in the same scene (set off by asterisks).


End file.
